Wane braced for a ‘desperate’ Salford side

Shaun Wane is braced for a full-on Salford side “desperate” to end their losing run.

Ian Watson’s Red Devils have been one of the surprise-packets of this Super League campaign.

But their fortunes have nose-dived spectacularly in recent weeks, losing their last six matches including a Challenge Cup semi-final against the Warriors.

Wane is not reading anything into their recent sequence, other than predicting it will dial up the intensity of tonight’s DW Stadium showdown as both sides look to keep within touching distance of a top-four spot.

He said: “They’re still a very, very good team. I tried to put myself in Ian’s position and we’re not going to meet them at the semi-final. They’re not finding wins, that’s obvious, so I think they’ll be full on.

“They’ll be a very, very desperate team, looking to come and put a performance and get their season going again because the fact is they’ve been very good this year.

“And they’ve really tested us and tested lots of teams, they’re just not finding that bit of luck at the minute. So they’ll come and I think they’ll be very motivated.”

Salford clung onto their Super League place in dramatic fashion last year, winning the million pound game against Hull KR.

And they have avoided any relegation worries this time out, climbing into the top-eight before the season split for the Super-8s phase.

Watson has a useful squad peppered with star quality, including Kiwi cult-hero Manu Vatuvei and Australian stand-off Todd Carney.

Wigan won the last meeting between them, securing a place at Wembley with a 27-14 semi-final win.

“Robert Lui’s a great example,” said Wane. “I think he’s a great talent, playing outstandingly well and he always tests us when we play against him.

“The semi-final could have gone either way. It wasn’t a convincing win for us, so we’ll show them a lot of respect. They’re a good team and they’re going to get a win very soon – we just need to make sure that we’re very prepared this week and it’s not us.